Category Archives: Jays Blog

I’ve been meditating in one form or another for decades. I’ve tried hypnotherapy, self-hypnosis, yoga, silent meditation, YouTube ,videos, books, drugs and cleanses to help me tap in. Don’t be impressed though, I’ve fallen off the track many times. I think those of us who are drawn towards mindfulness work the most are generally the most in…

Some people hate the winter. I love it. I thrive off of the space that this season gives me. I adore this hibernating period to recharge my mind, body, and soul. It’s often hard to find quiet time when work is pulling me every which way. But now as the house is still with the…

Here’s a quick tip…This is one way that I keep the creativity flowing when there is no time to actually paint. Sometimes Chelsea will look over at me and catch me in the act. I’ll be drawing in the air with my finger. I may look like a wacko, but I’m actually in the zone.…

We took our kids to their first music festival this past weekend! The Sea.Hear.Now Festival was set up in our hood on the beaches of Asbury Park, NJ. The weather and line up could not have been more perfect. We had a total blast and our children stayed awake almost the entire time! (Here’s Chelsea, Jack Johnson,…

Creativity, like waves, comes in sets. Waiting around for the next set is just part of the ride. About a month or so ago, I put a big blank canvas on my easel. It was intimidating to look at. It took up most of the width of my studio and it’s empty white surface was daunting.…

I remember when I was first learning to surf. I kept going for waves. I’d see one coming in, turn around and paddle as hard as I could. I committed to it. I was stoked and ready. Then I would miss it as it went right past me. Standing on my board still, I would…

I’ve been asked by hundreds of people how I come up with ideas for paintings. The truth of the matter is that when I’m creating from a place of inspiration and authenticity, the ideas just sort of appear out of thin air. But I realize that’s not very helpful to you. So let me dive…

My dear friend Brian Bishop just turned 30. His amazing wife Heather surprised the heck out of him with an original surf art painting of mine titled “Wave of Blues”. His reaction… is EPIC!!!! This is what STOKED looks like!! Oh and by the way…as if being an Architect and awesome husband isn’t enough, Brian…

I’m finishing up some huge projects and about to start others and I feel a bit of push and pull at times like this. Part of me is afraid to let go, part of me is ready to get to the next thing. Can you relate? I wanted to offer you this to think about……

As both a fan and a friend of the band I am so stoked and grateful that they asked me to create the album art for Slightly Stoopid’s new album, “Everyday Life, Everyday People”. From my perspective as a professional artist, this is a dream project and it’s been extremely exciting to work on this surf…

One of the biggest obstacles most people have with creating art is the amount of time that’s required. Here’s a bit about how I overcome that. First though…Let me start by announcing… I just finished a new painting!! (to be released soon) I started this painting a few months ago. I’ve worked on this piece…

I just read an article about how Millennials are more into spending money on experiences and less into buying stuff. This got me thinking….Is ART and MUSIC just …“stuff” ? I recently read a book on the subject of organizing and streamlining your life. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. You may not think that an…

I usually try to share wisdom in my blog. But today… thought I’d share my stupidity instead. So…here goes… Last week, I blogged about my recent West Coast Art Tour and lessons I learned. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. But…I left out one particularly embarrassing detail I’ll preface this by saying that it probably won’t shock…

I heard a podcast last week while driving back from Vail Mountain. Stephen Colbert was being interviewed by Oprah and she asked Stephen if he still gets nervous before doing his show. He laughed as though the answer was obvious and said “If you’re not nervous, you’re not trying”. Well, I just got home from…

Art is an observation of life. But we can learn so much about how to live through thinking like an artist. Every painting is a documentation of choices. Those choices are either made consciously or unconsciously, but everything from the type of brushstrokes to the saturation and values chosen to the color temperature is a…

I received a private message on Instagram this week from an artist who’s been struggling to find any success with her art. She told me that she admires what I do and how I do it..but doesn’t know how I do it. She went on to ask for some advice understanding how to make a…

This past week I had a pretty magical moment…While taking out the garbage. Wait for it…. I woke up with an empowering list of things I was going to do and expectations to conquer the world. I was going to work on my new painting, write for a few hours, spend time with my children,…

If you want to improve your situation, you better know exactly what you want. If you could talk to any teacher, role mode, expert or successful person and find out something, would you know what to ask?

Today I offer you a practical tip for approaching blocks in life. We all experience moments of being stuck and feeling that we’re just not good enough. This can be frustrating and draining. The more we try, the deeper we sink into the quicksand of our efforts. Side note: * If you don’t experience these sort…

Last week I posted a message about sticking to what you love despite the challenges. It was an honest and vulnerable admission about overcoming common struggles as an artist, entrepreneur and parent. When I finished writing it I ended with a question asking what your biggest struggles were and how you overcome them. I clicked…

Sometimes when I paint it feels effortless and at those moments, I know that I was born to do this! I know what I’m about to say will sound counterintuitive to a lot of my posts about how art is so meditative, relaxing and zen like. But it’s important to understand that our ability to…

I want to talk about finding inspiration. Just because I am an artist, doesn’t mean I spend all day blissing out in front of an easel listening to Jimi Hendrix. Sure sometimes that’s how I operate, but more often than I’d like to admit, I have just as much of a hard time finding inspiration…

I hesitated sharing this, but sometimes you have to shed some light upon darkness. I doodled this while talking to my dad on the phone the other day. He was telling me about how my mom is back in the hospital again. Mental illness took its grip on her yet again. I’ve seen this cycle…

My First Piece of Jiu Jitsu Art & How It Came About I’ll start at the beginning. Way, way back, when my little brother Eric and I were kids, we really wanted to be ninjas. We made Chinese stars and swords and bow and arrows and really wanted those claws that attach to your hands and…

I hosted my first live painting and Q&A on my Facebook Fan Page last week and I had a couple thousand people from around the world join me. It was a lot of fun and I will plan another one soon. I painted a new piece from a blank canvas and improvised as I went. My…